Technology Group Plans Wireless Network

Next Right

This Semester

Digital Politics (aka Digi) has opened my eyes to new technologies and schools of thought in the digital media that I had not previously realized existed. We are entering a new era of society, evolving completely around technology and we must be willing to respond to new issues as they arise.

Copyright laws need to change for the 21st century. There are ways for organizations to make profits without keeping individuals from using copyrighted materials or downloading music or movies illegally. The right answer is not making it more difficult for people to rip music and movies off the Internet, rather a peaceful coexistence needs to be created between the two groups.

The speakers we have had in class have been interesting and informative. Although Dan Nye may have a more optimistic view of LinkedIn than many critics have, his dedication to the company must be applauded. LinkedIn generally has a great idea for the future of social networking, and if they continue improving the site and expanding the options, I can see it as being just as successful as Facebook. Harris Miller made sweeping generalizations about post-secondary education, and I disagree with him on many of his points. Although career colleges may be useful for some people who do not wish to get much of a higher education, it is absolutely incorrect to say that they are the best option for the majority of the country. Stu Ingis was probably the most interesting of the speakers we have had this semester. Although I disagree with many of the philosophies some of the companies he represents in regards to Internet law, he seems to represent them well and has a knowledge in the subject far beyond many others.

All in all, I have learned more in this class about Web policy and issues than I ever knew existed. I think that the future of the Internet and social networks in particular looks wide open and it will be interesting to see how governmental and corporation policy will adapt to the new technologies the Internet allows.

Follow Up Link to the Previous Post

Is Facebooks Application Explosion Finally Starting to Let Up?

This article shows statistical data collected through various forums, as well as the actually starting up of new applications to show the clear slump that Facebook is going through with regards to designers creating new applications. The affects that this could have on the end users may be evident in the near future.

RECOUNT Movie Trailer

HBO’s upcoming made-for-TV movie "Recount" (premiering 5/25) revisits the chaos in Florida following the 2000 presidential election.

Free Wi-Fi, but Not for All

How Much Does That Person On the Other Line Really Know?

As the increase in outsourcing of calls continues to rise to with an estimated $280 billion spent last year on such outsourcing centers, many have increased the technology that enables them get information on the caller. An example of this is "Cisco's voice-analysis system monitors parameters including volume, cadence, tone, pitch and inflection, and then sorts callers into six personality types to help agents fine-tune call handling." There is also the use of "context data" which takes into account various factors that are being put on the caller such as weather, the time of day, the location of the call, and recent transactions. This all is to provide the help centers with an increased ability to relate to the caller and allow for the customer to feel at ease. But is it going to far???

Can AM Radio Reign Again?

As satellite and radio starts to emerge one company hopes to take advantage of an already existing technology, but just adding a few key touches to give it a new found power. It is called Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)and is striving to become the "digital replacement for "for traditional long-, medium- and short-wave radio." The advantage of this is that it is relatively low cost, as you would only modify existing AM stations, and at the same time have a greater range than current FM stations. The new technology can allow for music to be heard as far as halfway across the world, this was exhibited in a recent test were transmissions from Europe were heard clearly in Australia. Only time will tell if this technology can hold its own against new-age competitors.

Wikipedia Struggles With What Direction It Should Go

A bitter battle is being fought on the internet today, more specifically on Wikipedia, between a group called "inclusionists" and another called "deletionists". The center of this debate is described in this Economist article as Wikipedia either striving "to encompass every aspect of human knowledge, no matter how trivial; or it can adopt a more stringent editorial policy and ban articles on trivial subjects, in the hope that this will enhance its reputation as a trustworthy and credible reference source." The real problem being if things are deleted, what kind of guidelines will be followed in this deletion? In the past Wikipedia's choice about what to keep and what to delete has come under scrutiny as the article describes. Which side are you on?

REMINDER

Don't forget to bring your laptop and headphones to class today. Thanks!

Google Seeks Open-Access Pledge From Verizon

Free Wi-Fi, but Not for All

Prepping Robots to Perform Surgery

Leading Indian Telecom Seeking Deal in South Africa

As the western powers decline the growing economies look for a new market.

T-Mobile Offers 3G in New York

quicker internet for NYC?

AT&T Welcomes Programmers for All Phones Except the iPhone

Why is Steve Jobs against creativity?

Turning Nonworking Gizmos Into Money

Get money or save the environment? answer is to do both.

Good News in the One Million Missing iPhones

Apparently Apple is finding the argument that the iphone sales themselves are doing the company a good profit. Granted the amount that they get from AT&T is a great revenue apple still benefits a lot from iphones being sold and their brand reinforced. This is another good argument for apple to step back from grouping with the AT&Ts of the world and allow the consumer more choice.

Where Are Those Million iPhones? Everywhere.

Apparently iphones are everywhere even though apple hasn't worked out plans to sell the iphone everywhere. The answer is that all of these phones have been unlocked and adapted to local service providers.